Game Plan
by DinosaurTrainFan
Summary: Summary: Nick Sanajeh never expected to fall for anyone, especially at a dome ball game. But he indeed does with Corey, the troodon who is the dome ball referee. Can Nick win the heart of Corey Troodon? Read to find out. First romance fic about a same-sex crush, no flames but constructive criticism is accepted.
1. Love at First Sight

Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic

Summary: Nick Sanajeh never expected to fall for anyone, especially at a dome ball game. But he indeed does with Corey, the troodon who is the dome ball referee. Can Nick win the heart of Corey Troodon? Read to find out. First romance fic about a same-sex crush, no flames but constructive criticism is accepted.

Chapter 1-Love at First Sight

It was a bright and sunny day as Nick Sanajeh and his sister Alana got off of the Dinosaur Train and slithered onto the platform for Pachycephalosaur Plateau Station. Alana was a yellow sanajeh with brown on her back and had beautiful blue eyes. Nick was the same species as her, though adopted, but he was much thinner than her. His skin was mostly black with yellow on the bottom part of his body and around his eyes, which were the color green, like emeralds. And they weren't the only ones to get off the train for they were surrounded by a large crowd of creatures and dinosaurs. For the dinosaurs there were stigimolochs, troodons, pteranodons, triceratops, brachisaurs', and a few T-Rexes. For other creatures there were cimolestes, a few bird species, and of course the sanajeh siblings themselves. The whole group of assorted creatures were heading for one specific place, the Dome ball court where today's game was to be played between sibling players Patrick and Pamela Pachycephalosaurus and their opponents which were two stygimolochs.

Eventually the court could be seen and the crowd arrived within minutes. The dome ball field had two poles on both sides with a grass net cutting over the court, splitting it into two sides for both teams. Also on both sides and recently built were two separate bleachers for the spectators to sit and watch the game. Alana and Nick sat on the middle row of the bleachers on the right side of the field. "I'm really glad you decided to come with me to see the game," Alana said happily to her brother. "You're going to enjoy it, Nick. It's very exciting."

Nick had been hearing about the dome ball games from his sister for a while now. She had attended them with her husband Gordon, a troodon, and both had a really fun time watching them. After hearing about the game and how it was played, Nick had to admit to himself that he felt a little bit curious about seeing one for himself. So when he asked Alana if he and her could see one together, she said that she would love to go to a game with him. Nick scanned the field from side to side. "So how long do these games go on for?"

"No more than an hour and a half, sometimes they go on for two hours. But by the time these games are finished Nick, they feel like they've gone on for hours." Alana answered him.

Soon both the Pachycephalosaur and stygimoloch teams walked onto the dome ball court and received much applause from the audience, to which they waved back with smiles on their faces. Nick waved back and was feeling a bit excited; he couldn't wait for the game to start. And then he appeared as if out of thin air. A tanned skin-colored troodon with a whistle in his right hand walked across the court, stopped on the other side, and turned so that he was facing the crowd. Nick stared at this troodon and all of a sudden he could feel his heart beating very fast. His mouth was dry and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Standing on the other side of the court was the most beautiful looking creature Nick had ever seen in his life. His skin shining in the light of the sun, his long tail swinging slowly from side to side, and the perfect white smile of his teeth. And when the troodon spoke, his voice sounded a bit high, but to Nick it was the loveliest sound he had ever heard.

"Okay everyone, I want a good, fair, and clean game, understood?" Both teams nodded. "Both teams ready?" The troodon referee asked. Both teams looked each other in the eyes and determined looks appeared on all four of their faces. They all said that they were ready. The troodon brought the whistle up to his lips and blew loudly. "Alrighty then, let's play some Dome ball!"

And with that he threw a gourd that he had been holding in his other arm up into the air. It disappeared into the sun for a second before coming back down. Seeing it, Patrick Pachycephalosaurus rammed the top of his dome head against the gourd and knocked it over the net. The male stygimoloch saw the gourd and smacked his head against it as well, sending it back over the net. The gourd was hit by Pamela and then by the female stygimoloch and then by Patrick again and then by the male stygimoloch again. The gourd went back and forth, back and forth from both teams. Nick felt like he was being pulled into a hypnotic trance with the gourd until Pamela knocked it over the net and it fell onto the ground before either stygimoloch could try to stop it.

The troodon referee blew his whistle again and cried out. "Point for Pamela and Patrick Pachycephalosaurus!" About half of both bleachers cheered and applauded at the announcement.

"They're so wonderful, Patrick and his sister Pamela. They're extremely good dome ball players and my husband and I love them so much." Alana gasped. "I wonder if I can get their autographs? Oh, the look on Gordon's face when he sees them."

"Alana," Nick said turning to face her. "Who is that troodon refereeing the game?"

Alana looked down and spotted who Nick was talking about. "Oh, that's Corey Troodon. He referees all of the dome ball games that take place here and the games of a few other sports. He's been refereeing games for a long while now. Why do you ask?"

"Um…um…I was just wondering, that's all." Alana looked at him for a second before returning her attention to the game. Nick sighed inwardly with relief. He didn't feel ready to talk about his sudden feelings for the troodon below them.

The game continued and everyone watched with full attention. The gourd was knocked down back and forth for such long stretches of time, that it seemed like it would never fall. But fall it would on one side or the other, earning a point for one team or the other. Corey blew his whistle and called out points for whoever scored and let both teams know whose turn it was to serve the gourd. Nick watched Corey and was impressed by how well he was running the game. He thought that Corey was really good at his job.

The gourd landed on Patrick and Pamela's side and Corey blew his whistle. "Listen up, dome ball players! The game is tied twenty-one to twenty-one! Whoever gets the next point wins the game!"

This was it, the game was almost over and everyone was watching on the edge of their seats. Patrick and his sister looked at their opponents with squinted eyes, they were determined to win. Both teams prepared themselves. Corey blew his whistle and Patrick served the gourd. Nick was certain that the hearts of every creature in the crowd were beating frantically with each pass of the gourd over the net. Many could be heard letting out gasps as the gourd was about to land on the ground, only to be knocked back up into the air again. The male stygimoloch rammed his head against the gourd as hard as he could and up into the air it went.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The gourd was up high in the air and then it began to descend towards the ground. "Get it, Patrick!" Pamela cried. Patrick looked up and saw it before he bent his knees and gave the biggest jump he could muster. He jumped up high toward the gourd, but it seemed like he would not be able to hit it. But then…

WHAM! The gourd was sent flying back up into the air. Both stygimolochs panicked and jumped up into the air and towards each other. They looked like they were going to crash into each other, but instead fell on the ground with one on top of the other. The gourd bounced off of the female styigimoloch's back and landed onto the ground. Corey blew his whistle with all his might.

"That's it! The game is all over and the win goes to Patrick and Pamela Pachycephalosaurus!" The troodon cried. Cheers and applause were ringing throughout the air as the crowds on both sides began coming down the stands and over to the winning team.

"Oh Nick, let's get down there and see them. I just got to get Patrick and Pamela's autographs!" Alana cried. Nick followed after her, not just to see Patrick and Pamela to congratulate them on a good played game, but to also meet Corey and talk to him. The two snake siblings raced down the steps and onto the field. After making their way through the crowd to the center of it, they were before the pachycephalosaur siblings. "Hello Patrick and Pamela, my name is Alana. My husband and I are such huge fans of yours and I was wondering if, I could have both your autographs?"

"Why sure." Pamela said.

"Anything for a fan, tell you what? How would you like the winning gourd with our signatures on it?" Patrick suggested.

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Alana said cheerfully. As Patrick and his sister were signing the gourd, a high-sounding voice spoke out from outside the crowd.

"See you Patrick and Pamela, I'm heading off!"

"Okay, sure thing Corey!" Patrick called out to him as his eyes were on the gourd he was signing.

Nick looked alarmed. "Uh…congrats on winning the game!" And he slithered quickly away and around all the feets of the crowd, trying not to get stepped on. He slid this way and that until he was finally out of the group of creatures. "Wait…!"

But it was too late. Corey had disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared into Nick's life. Nick looked around and around but saw no sign of where the troodon went. "Nick, Nick!" Nick turned and saw his sister appear out of the crowd with the gourd clutched tightly in her tail. She came over to him.

"Nick, why did you slither off like that?"

"I…I…was feeling trapped in that crowd and thought I needed some air." Nick said.

"Well, alright. The game's over, so I guess it's time to go."

"Right." Nick said, though he was feeling disappointed and wanted to go find Corey, but he could see no trace of where the troodon had gone. So he followed his sister back to the train station, his heart feeling very low.

 **Corey Troodon is actually an OC I based off of the troodon referee from the Dinosaur Train episode Dome-Headed Dinosaur. Basically I just gave the referee from that episode his own name and character in this fic. Feel free to review and let me know what you think.**


	2. A Confession of Feelings

**Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic**

Chapter 2-A Confession of Feelings

Nick's chin rested on the sill of the passenger car window. The train was heading down the tracks toward where he and Alana lived, separately of course. He stared at the scenery passing by, thinking about what had happened today. He thought about seeing Corey for the first time and feeling bad that he had missed an opportunity to meet him in person. He wondered if he would ever get another chance to see him.

"Nick, are you feeling alright?" Alana asked him.

Nick slowly looked at her. "Yeah, I am…" He lied, not wanting his sister to worry or anything. "Just lost in my own thoughts, that's all." Alana looked at him for a moment and turned her head to face forward. Nick resumed staring out of the window.

"Thanks for coming, Nick. Did you have a good time?" Alana and her brother were now at the fork in the road, one path leading to where Alana lived with her husband, the other where Nick lived by himself.

"I did, thanks for taking me along. A great way to have brother and sister time."

Alana nodded. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Alana."

The two took their separate ways at the fork in the dirt path, Alana going left and Nick going right. No doubt Alana would relay the whole game to her troodon husband and show him the winning gourd signed by Patrick and Pamela. Nick knew that Gordon was going to be smiling from ear to ear, figuratively speaking. Thanking his wife for thinking to get an autograph, how it was such a great and wonderful idea, and kiss Alana on the cheek.

And Nick was going home alone, where no one would be waiting for him. It didn't usually bother him this much, but after seeing and developing such strong feelings for the troodon referee, he really wished that he had Corey walking here beside him. It would've been great to have met him and invited him over to his place. Nick thought that he would've made great company, he even imagined having Corey over. Laughing, playing one or two games with him, sipping mineral water out of the glasses Gordon and his sister got him for one of his birthdays, and talking long after the sun was down. Nick wondered how good a conversationalist Corey was, probably better than him.

Nick soon found himself in his clearing home. His things were hidden in a wooden dresser Gordon and his troodon friends helped brought here. Atop it was a picture of Nick, Alana, and their parents. Alana and her parents looked the same while Nick looked different from them. He had been adopted by Alana's parents when he was four and Alana was seven. He could still remember how nervous he was feeling when he first came into his new family's home, worried that he wouldn't fit in. But he did and Alana and her parents accepted him easily as one of their own. He had been grateful to them for doing that ever since.

The sun was sinking low in the sky, but it was not yet sunset. Nick signed sadly. He slithered under the small wooden dresser and curled himself up under it. His chin rested on his long back and he closed his eyes. He played over today's event over and over again in his mind, trying to figure out if there could have been some way to get to Corey and speak with him, without being prevented from doing so. Then he heard a voice, a soft voice calling out his name. "Nick, Nick!" It was his sister Alana. "Nick, where are you? Nick?"

She looked around the clearing and saw him lying in a coil under the dresser. She slithered over and looked underneath. "Oh, there you are. Gordon and I were wondering if you would like to have dinner with us tonight?"

Nick didn't respond.

"Nick, is everything okay?"

Again, Nick didn't respond.

Looking concerned, Alana slithered underneath the dresser and coiled herself up next to him on his left. "What's the matter, Nick?"

Nick tightened the coil his body was in and still said nothing.

"Nick I'm your sister, you can tell me if something's wrong. I won't make fun of you if that's why you're worried."

Nick looked at Alana's face, saw how sincere she looked, sighed, and spoke up. "Today, at the dome ball field, something happened."

"What do you mean, what happened besides the game and Patrick and Pamela giving out autographs?"

"I…I…I," Nick struggled to speak. This feeling he was feeling, it was the first time he had ever felt anything like it, an attraction to another creature. "When the dome ball referee, Corey Troodon, walked onto the field, when I saw him, my heart was beating fast and I…found it hard to breathe…and," Nick paused for what felt like an eternity. "I…I think I have a crush on him." The words came quick, like ripping off a band-aid.

Silence filled the air for a moment, and Nick wondered what Alana would say. She knew that her brother was gay, had been for years since they were teenagers and had been accepting of it ever since. However, Nick still wondered how she would react to this bit of news. Finally, after the moment was up, Alana spoke.

"Nick, that's…the most wonderful thing ever!"

"Really?" Nick asked looking dumbfounded.

Alana smiled. "Yes, oh look at you. My baby brother already has his first crush!" She said rubbing the top of his head in an affectionate noogie.

"C'mon, knock it off! And don't call me baby!" Nick said slapping his sister's tail away playfully, a smile now on his face.

"It's just so sweet. Is that why you went off like that? To meet Corey?"

Nick nodded and he looked a little down. "I didn't get a chance, he left before I could talk to him." He closed his eyes and sighed.

Nick felt Alana's tail on his back and he looked at her smiling face. "Hey, don't worry. You'll get another chance to meet him. He referees lots of games, I'm sure Corey will be back there tomorrow, so you'll have another opportunity."

"You think so?" Alana nodded and Nick slowly smiled again. "Thanks."

"You've very welcome, Nick. Now, how would you like to join me and Gordon for dinner? He's making his famous carrion stew. And maybe I can give you some advice, about asking someone out and dating and all that. And," Alana gave Nick a side smile. "How to charm a charming troodon off of his feet."

Nick found himself chuckling a little. "Alright, I would love to attend dinner with you two. And thanks for offering to help."

"Anytime." Alana happily said.

The two slithered out from underneath the dresser and headed off. They came to the fork in the dirt path again and went off in the direction of Alana and Gordon's home.


	3. Getting to Know You, Part One

**Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic**

Chapter 3-Getting to Know You, Part One

"So you have a fancy for the dome ball referee Corey Troodon, eh Nick?" Gordon said as he cut up his food. Nick sat at the wooden table with Alana and her husband Gordon as they ate dinner, which was carrion and with a side of lettuce. The sun was setting behind the mountain as all three of them sat and ate. Nick felt himself blush a little before saying that he did.

"Now Nick, it's perfectly okay if you have a crush on someone." Alana said reassuringly. "I felt the same way about Gordon. I took a chance with it, and guess what? He and I goit along really well and now we are both married!" She batted her eyelashes at Gordon, which made him chuckle a bit before looking down at his food while cutting it, a smile plastered on his face.

"I don't know if Corey and I are destined for marriage just yet…He doesn't even know that I exist." Nick pointed out after wiping his mouth on napkin.

"My point is that you'll never know until you try." Alana said before putting a piece of meat into her mouth and chewing it.

Nick looked down at his plate. "But how do I find him again? I don't know his work schedule, and you said that he referees for other sports in addition to dome ball…"

"We can check the dome field tomorrow and see if anyone knows when Corey will be back, or what games he's refereeing that day. And when we find him, you can talk to Corey."

Nick began thinking and he smiled a little. "Yeah, talk to him and get to know him better, and have him know me better too. Maybe we'll find a thing or two in common, or like each other despite any different interests? And after that, maybe I can try asking him out if he's, you know, interested in seeing other males."

"You'll never know if you try. And I can help you. I happen to be an expert…" Alana smiled as she placed the tip of her tail atop Gordon's right hand. "In charming the charming Troodontid species."

Gordon smiled back and he took Alana's tail tip in both his hands. "You certainly are. And if I might add, snakes are a charming species as well." He kissed the tip of Alana's tail and she giggled and blushed at him. Then Gordon looked at Corey. "I wish you the best of luck tomorrow, Nick. And who knows? Maybe Corey is interested in dating males, and maybe he has a thing for snakes like me." Gordon flashed his wife a charming smile, which made her giggle even more.

Nick thanked them for the advice and they all resumed eating dinner.

It was bright and sunny today just like yesterday as Nick and Alana arrived at Pachycephalosaur Plateau Station. They went to the dome ball field and saw a troodon referee, but to Nick's disappointment it wasn't Corey. The troodon's skin was a lot lighter, bright orange just like Mr. Conductor's. He was also wearing a white-with-black-stripes referee shirt and hat in addition to the whistle around his neck.

"Excuse me, we're looking for Corey Troodon, a dome ball referee like you? Do you know where he is today?" Alana asked.

The troodon referee shook his head. "Nope, sorry miss but I don't. But I do know that he will be back here for a dome ball game in two days time."

"Why thank you so much." Alana said and the two sanajeh left. "Did you hear that, Nick? You'll be able to see Corey in two days."

"Oh, God." Nick said. He was starting to feel really nervous right now. He was worried that he might screw it up.

"Don't worry Nick, I'll help you." Alana gave him a reassuring smile.

Nick smiled back and he felt very relieved.

He and Alana practiced for when Nick would introduce himself to Corey whenever Alana came over to visit him. Alana pretended to be Corey and Nick introduced himself to her, telling her his name and saying a little about himself. They even roped some things into their conversation, like questions about dome ball and if Corey really liked the sport and refereeing it. By the end of the evening before they were to head to the dome ball field again, Alana smiled and said that she believed that Nick was ready.

They set off together in the morning a while after breakfast and caught the train to Pachycephalosaur Plateau Station. The train arrived there within twenty minutes and Nick and Alana headed off for the playing field. Nick's heart was beating very fast in anticipation, excitement, and a bit of nervousness. And when they reached the dome ball field, Nick's heart leapt. There walking onto the field, was Corey Troodon himself! He was holding onto the handle of a rolling black duffle bag, its wheels moving over the dirt and leaving a trail behind it. Corey stopped at the edge of the court and opened the duffle bag. He pulled out a playing gourd and set it on the ground. He appeared to be getting the field ready for today's game.

"Nick, you okay?" Nick looked at his sister and nodded a little, looking like he had just came out of a trance. She smiled at him. "It's okay, I'm right here for you. You can do this." Silence was between them for a moment as they were a bit away from the field, but close enough to see the troodon setting up. "Do you want me to be beside as you introduce yourself or should I be up in the bleachers?"

"U-Up in the bleachers, I think…I think I can do this by myself, but you can be nearby for, moral support?"

"Okay, I'll be up in the stands, good luck." Alana kissed her brother on the cheek before slithering over to and up the steps. She found a place to sit and looked down at the dome ball field. Nick placed his tail on his cheek and slithered over as well, but he hid under the bleachers watching Corey. He was standing by one of the two poles while setting up the other end of the grassy net.

 _Okay Nick you've finally found him. Now go over and talk to him._ Said a voice inside his head. Then another replied back to the voice, his own. _How?_

 _Introduce yourself. Say that you saw him at the game a few days ago and compliment him about how he did._ Nick nodded. _Okay that sounds good, but I'm…still nervous._

Nick watched Corey setting up the net and then he heard the troodon begin to hum to himself. Nick listened and realized that he was humming the Dinosaur Train song by King Cryolophosaurus, Nick's favorite of all dinosaur musicians. Nick slowly smiled and began humming the song to himself as well. He loved music and he was good at playing it too, ever since he was a little kid. Nick hummed the song just like Corey was doing and he began to feel better, calmer.

Nick felt like he could do this. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he slithered out from under the bleachers and over to Corey, until he was standing behind him. Corey was still humming to himself and apparently oblivious to the world around him. Nick looked at his sister up in the bleachers, who then flashed a thumbs-up-like gesture with her tail. Nick took another deep breath and looked at Corey. He remembered what to say and slowly lifted his tail up to his mouth. He coughed to get Corey's attention.

Corey stopped what he was doing and turned around. When Nick saw him up close in person for the first time, he realized that the troodon was even more beautiful looking. His tan-orange skin was shining in the light of the sun, the feathers on top of his head were tan-brown and blew a little in the light breeze, and his eyes were chocolate-brown. When Corey saw Nick, he gave him a friendly smile while closing his hands and placing the backs of them against his hips. "Well howdy stranger, what can I do you for?" He greeted kindly.

"Oh, hi. My name's Nick, Nick Sanajeh. I saw you at the dome ball game a few days ago."

"Hi, Nick. My name's Corey Troodon, pleasure to meet you." He said holding his right hand out for Nick to shake.

"Likewise." Nick said shaking the troodon's hand. He stared at that smiling face and envied whatever god who had the good fortune of giving Corey his good looks. "I…I saw you at the game a few days ago and I wanted to say that…you did a good job of refereeing it…but you were gone before I could speak to you."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that…"

"It's okay, really it's okay." Nick said, not wanting Corey to feel bad or anything.

"Well, thank you for the compliment, I really appreciate it. I do consider myself a really good referee for the sports games I oversee."

"Do you like sports?" Nick asked.

Corey beamed at him. "I love em! Ever since I was a little troodon tot."

"Do you like to play sports? Which ones are you good at?" Nick thought that this was going great so far. He was beginning to know more about Corey.

"Yeah. I like to play dino ball and the hand version of dome ball the most. I'm really good at both of them."

"How good are you?"

Corey grinned at him. "You wanna see in a game against me, a game of the hand version of dome ball?"

Nick's eyes widened to the size of gourds. "A game against you?"

"Yeah, today's dome ball game doesn't start for a couple hours and I just wanted the field ready before then. We can have a quick game before it starts, so what do you say? Nick?" Nick was looking down shyly at the ground, a nervous look on his face. "If you're worried about beating me, I can take it. Losing doesn't bother me. I just care about following the rules, playing fair, and having fun."

"It's not that, it's just that…I don't play sports much. I don't consider myself very good." Nick looked up again to see Corey smiling.

"That's okay, tell you what? How about I show you how good I am for the first couple throws of mine and then when we start the actual game, I'll go easy on you?"

Nick thought about it, and saw that it was very thoughtful of Corey to make that offer. Maybe a game against him wouldn't be so bad? Nick smiled up at him. "Alright, let's do it! Me against you!"

"May the best creature win!" Corey said happily before he and Nick shook. Alana sat where she was in the middle row of the bleachers as she watched Nick take the left side of the field while Corey took the right.

"Ready, Nick?" Corey said to his snake opponent.

"Ready, Corey!" Nick said. _As ready as I'll ever be._ Nick thought.

Corey threw up the gourd he'd been holding up into the air. It went up high and fell back down before he swatted it over the net. Nick watched in awe as it came down onto his side. He threw the gourd back to him and Corey struck it up into the air before it landed on Nick's side again. The sanajeh was very impressed by Corey's aim, seeing that the troodon was a really good player.

"Ready to begin the actual game?" Nick nodded at him. Corey closed his eyes and blew into his referee whistle. "Let's play some hand ball!" He cried enthusiastically. And with that, Corey threw the gourd up into the air again and smacked it over the net. Nick did nothing as he watched it fall and land on his side.

"Point for Corey Troodon! Oops, sorry about that Nick! Guess I shouldn't be refereeing a game I'm in!"

Nick found himself chuckling. "No need to worry." He said, thinking that it was kind of cute.

"Hey, why didn't you try to hit it back?" The troodon asked.

Nick's face went red. "Oh, I…I was lost in my own thoughts at that moment, but I'm okay now. Go on and hit the gourd again, I'm sure I'll hit it this time." But the truth was that Nick was not only distracted by how impressively Corey played, but by how beautifully the troodon moved while he played. This continued as the game progressed and Nick was constantly distracted by what Corey did. Hitting the gourd up with his hand, running from side to side to hit it back, and jumping up into the air to hit the gourd back. Nick would hit the gourd back just so he could see Corey move his body, with Corey sometimes accidently missing the gourd and Nick getting a point. But as the game was nearing the end of the time they had left, Nick was losing to Corey three-to-nineteen.

"C'mon, Nick put some effort into the game. It feels like I'm playing by myself." Corey smirked as he joked.

"Uh, alright." Nick threw up the gourd with his tail and smacked it over the net. Then Corey bent down like he was about to squat, and his legs bounced up as if they were elastic. He threw up his hand and smacked the gourd back up into the air. Nick watched with amazement, the gourd sailed up into the air so high that it seemed like it would disappear into the sky. It went up, up, up, and then it fell down, down, down…

"Nick!" Corey cried, but he sounded like he was a million miles away. The gourd was falling very fast towards Nick. He closed his eyes at the last second and he felt a sharp pain on the top of his head. Everything went black.

"Nick, Nick can you hear me?" Corey asked.

Nick groaned as he slowly came to. When he awoke, he saw Alana and Corey hovering over him. He was lying on his back by the bleachers, on one of the benches used for the teams. He could feel an ice pack being held on top of his head. Nick fully opened his eyes and saw that Corey's face was very up close to his as the troodon held the icepack to his head. Nick could feel himself blushing and his heart pounding so much that he thought that it was going to burst right out of his chest. At first he hoped that Corey wouldn't notice him blushing, but then the thought faded when he saw the look of guilt and worry on Corey's face.

"I'm so sorry, Nick. I'm so sorry that this happened."

"W-What?" Nick's eyes widened. "What, no Corey! It was my fault, not yours! I should've been paying more attention to our game, but I…the light of the sun got in my eyes."

"The light of the sun?" Corey asked.

Nick hoped that Corey would buy this, not wanting him to feel bad, and to his relief, Corey seemed to believe that it was the case. "Nonetheless, I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Again it wasn't your fault, think nothing of it." Nick really didn't want Corey to be blaming himself. After a few minutes Nick slowly sat up and got off of the bench. He was able to still move, but the bump on his head still hurt a bit.

"I'll be getting Nick home, Corey." Alana said as she placed her tail around her brother.

"I'll walk you two to the station. The game won't start for fifteen minutes, and I'm sure that your train will arrive for you and I'll be back before then." Corey said. It was clear by the sound of his voice that he was still worried for Nick. He gave the troodon a small smile and told him that he would be grateful and to not feel bad for him, that he would just be fine. Corey followed the two sanajeh to the train station and waited with them until the Dinosaur Train arrived. "Good-bye, Alana. Good-bye, Nick. Hope you'll feel better soon. Sorry that today didn't go so well"

"I will, thank you so much. You're very kind, and it's fine. When can I see you again, could we perhaps hang out sometime?"

"Sure, two days from now, after that day's game. Meet me at the dome ball field. We can hang out and chat." Corey seemed to be looking better, he was even smiling a little. Nick and Alana got on the train and sat down at a window. The train whistle blew and they waved to Corey and he waved back before he walked off. Nick watched him head back to the field, loving the way he walked. But he felt so bad. The day had ended in a bit of a disaster, why did he have to get so easily distracted by Corey's movements?

Nick sighed. _The only bright side is that I got to meet him, and I'll have another chance not to screw it up in front of him._ Nick opened his eyes and a small determined look appeared on his face. He was going to get to know Corey better and vice-versa. And hopefully, after some time, he would be able to summon the courage to ask Corey out on a date.


	4. Getting to Know You, Part Two

**Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic**

Chapter 4- Getting to Know You, Part Two

It was a bright and sunny day as Nick made his way to the dome ball field. Corey was setting up the field net just like last time, humming away to himself. Instead of hiding before making his move, Nick slithered up until he was behind the troodon. He coughed and Corey turned around. The moment he saw Nick, he smiled.

"Nick, what a pleasant surprise! Great to see you again!"

Nick chuckled. "Well, you did say that I could come back and see you again."

"Oh yea, that's right. How's your head?" Corey's smile vanished the instant he asked.

Nick absentmindedly placed the tip of his tail gently on top of his head, where the small bump was located. "It's fine. I'm feeling much better now. There's a bump on my head, but please don't blame yourself." Nick said holding out his tail to him. "The sun was in my eyes."

Silence was between the two for a moment before Corey spoke up. "Well, I'm glad you're okay and up and about."

Nick wanted desperately to change the subject. He looked behind Corey at the net he had set up. "You're getting the field ready for today's game?"

"Oh yeah, I am!" Corey turned his body halfway back and smiled at the field. "The game's not for a couple hours, but I wanted to get it ready before then, just like last time."

"So, do you bring the gourd and net here to the field every time there's a game?"

"Course, I have a supply of gourds and nets at home and at the shed that is located here." He said pointing at the wooden shed right next to the bleachers.

"Mind if you show me inside?" Nick asked.

"Not at all." Corey beamed. He led the snake over to the shed and opened it, inside were a pile of gourds stacked neatly into a pyramid and five rows of grassy nets hanging on pegs on the wall. "I know, why bring a gourd and net if you have plenty at the field? Well I do carry a gourd and net to the game, but if anything happens, I have back-ups for them right here, so the game can still be played, unless weather conditions cause the game to be postponed or canceled."

Corey closed the shed door and looked down at the snake. "You wanna sit with me on the benches?" He asked pointing at the benches in front of the bleachers, where the teams usually sit.

"Oh, sure." Nick replied. He followed Corey over to one of the benches and sat himself down right next to the troodon. They both looked at the field for a few minutes before Corey closed his eyes and sighed with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Doesn't the dome ball field look so beautiful?" Corey asked.

"I…I think so." Nick replied, looking at the field while trying to see what Corey could, but couldn't. "You like dome ball?"

Corey turned his head to Nick and beamed at him. "I love dome ball! Ever since I was a little troodon tot! I loved playing it with the other kids, including other sports like dino ball." Corey pointed at his head. "You know how troodons are the smartest dinosaur and can know a lot of stuff?"

Nick nodded at him, wondering where he was going with this.

Corey looked ahead of him. "But each troodon is different, each with their own passions and interests. For me, that's sports. I know about all existing sports today for dinosaurs and other assorted creatures, and the rules for each one."

"Do you have a rule book for all of those sports? Maybe you could show me and tell me about some of them and their rules?"

"I'd be glad to." Corey got up to retrieve a big black binder from his duffle bag and sat back down to open it. He held it open on his lap and told Nick about some of the games in there and their rules. Nick saw how passionate Corey looked as he explained the rules, how much he clearly loved sports, and held them as an important part of his life. And for some unexplained reason, Nick admired Corey for caring so much about them. He liked them, so why shouldn't he feel so positive about them?

"You play really well, did you ever consider becoming an athlete?" Nick asked after Corey was done explaining the rules for dino frisbee.

"Well yes, I did when I was a kid. But I found myself more interested with the rules of a game and cared more about whether they were followed or not. So I guess one day I decided that when I grow up, I wanted to be a sports referee. And today I love being one. To me, it's the greatest job in the whole wide world."

Nick was glad to see Corey looking so happy about this. He then noticed the whistle hanging on the string around Corey's neck. "Where'd you get that whistle?" He asked while pointing at it.

Corey looked down at and held the whistle in one hand. "This, oh God. I've had this for years. My grandfather gave it to me when I was four. A real fan of sports and their rules, he was a sports referee too like me before he retired." Corey had a fond smile on his face as he continued to hold his whistle. Memories seemed to flood through his mind. "I used to come over and visit my grandfather on Saturdays. We would play hand dome ball and dino ball. He would even quiz me on sports trivia and rules. I loved that and it helped me improve my sports knowledge and memory."

"Wow, your grandfather sounds like a nice and great guy." Nick said with a smile.

"Yeah," Corey sighed. "He was."

"Was?" Nick's smile disappeared and he saw that Corey's smile was gone as well.

"He died years ago, when I was fifteen." Corey looked a little heartbroken and sad.

"Corey, I…I'm so sorry." Nick said. He was suddenly wishing that he hadn't asked about the whistle.

"It's okay, I've moved on from that. And," Corey looked up at the blue sky. "He's in a better place now, with my grandmother and his wife."

Silence fell between the two of them again. Nick didn't know what to say. Corey stood up and walked over to before the sideline. He still held his whistle in his left hand, but very tightly.

"It still hurts a little, but I don't want to ever forget him. I loved him so much and he loved me so much back. He wasn't just my grandfather; he was also my best friend."

Nick paused for a few seconds and then he spoke. "Your grandfather would be so proud of you right now. A sports referee as great as him. He's probably looking down at you right now, looking very happy."

Nick saw Corey turn his head back a little so he could see the side of his face. "Thanks Nick. It means a lot to me." He said with a little smile on his face.

Nick smiled back. "You're welcome" Another pause. "What did your grandfather look like?"

"Exactly like me. Except that there were wrinkles under his eyes, but he was super friendly." Corey sat back down again and looked at the field. He held his whistle to his heart, along with the happy memories he had of his grandfather.

Nick smiled at him.

"So what about you?" Corey asked turning his head to the snake.

"Me?"

"Yeah, tell me a little about yourself. Like what are your interests? What do you like and like to do?"

Nick looked down at the ground and back at Corey. "Well, I'm not into sports as much as you."

"That's okay, you have your own thing. Everyone does."

"Well, I like music."

"Do you play? Any instruments I mean?" Corey asked, genuinely sounding curious.

"Well, I can play guitar, the harp, the drums, and the flute. Those are the main ones I like to play, and a few others. I have them all at home."

"Would it be alright if I heard you play them, at your place?"

"M-My place? You want to hear me play?" Nick's face reddened.

"Sure, I'd be delighted to." Corey said smiling brightly, unaware of Nick blushing.

"But what about the dome ball game today?"

Corey waved his hand dismissively. "Like I said, game's not for a couple more hours. I have plenty of time to go with you, hear you play a little, and be back before then."

Nick looked at Corey's smiling face for a bit before he found himself nodding. Maybe this would be a good thing? It could help Corey know more about him.

"Well let's go!" And with that, Corey stood up and walked with Nick over to the station.

* * *

Nick felt so strange riding on the train with Corey sitting right next to him. Nick's heart was beating so fast and loud that he wondered why no one, including Corey, could hear it. As the scenery was passing by, Mr. Conductor was walking down the aisle. He saw Nick, stopped right next to the seat he and Corey were sharing, smiled, and give him a tip of his hat.

"Why hello there, Nick. How are you doing?"

"Oh, just fine, Mr. Conductor. And you?"

"Same, oh who's your friend?" Mr. Conductor said gesturing to the troodon sitting next to Nick.

"Oh this is Corey; he's a referee for the dome ball sport and a few other sports."

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Conductor." Corey said reaching out his hand.

"Likewise, I was wondering if it was you, Corey. A lot of troodons do look alike." Mr. Conductor said chuckling.

"Yeah, I know." Corey said chuckling as well. Mr. Conductor walked off and Corey looked at a slightly surprised Nick. "What, you thought this was my first ride aboard the Dinosaur Train? I ride it to get to the other sports I referee for, and I've known Mr. Conductor for ages. He's a really friendly guy." Nick looked and slowly nodded at his troodon companion.

The train went on for about fifteen minutes before arriving where Nick and his sister lived close by. He and Corey got off the train, said good-bye to the conductor, and headed for where Nick lived. As he slithered across the ground, Nick looked up at Corey. He still couldn't believe that he was about to play in front of him. He had played before his adoptive family and to the instructors that he's had, but never before anyone else. What would Corey think of his musical skills? Would he like them?

They arrived at Nick's place a moment later and Nick looked up at Corey. "I know, it's not much…"

"Are you kidding? It's very nice, a great place you got here." Corey grinned at him. Nick could feel himself go red and went with Corey to where he kept his instruments. They were kept in a wooden booth with a red curtain covering the entrance. Behind the curtain was a closet with shelves which held Nick's instruments.

"Um, which would you like me to play first?" The sanajeh asked his guest.

"Any one you want, Nick. And don't rush, I can wait a little." Corey sat down on the ground with his legs crossed in a pretzel, still smiling at Nick.

"Okay." Nick slithered underneath the curtain and looked up at the shelves. There were his drums, his guitar, and several other instruments, but he wasn't up to playing any of them yet. He scanned the shelves until his eyes rested upon his small harp. He grabbed it off of the shelf and came back out to Corey. Nick set the harp down in front of him and placed the end of his tail on the first string. He cleared his throat. "Hem-hem. Well Corey, are you ready to listen to the musical styling of Nick Sanajeh?"

"Oh yes, please." Corey said with his hands in his lap. He looked very eager to hear Nick play.

Nick closed his eyes, thought here goes nothing, and started to play the harp. Its heavenly sounding music filled the air and could be heard all over Nick's home. He opened his eyes and saw that Corey was still smiling, in fact his smile looked a bit bigger. It took a moment for Nick to realize that Corey was indeed enjoying his music. Nick smiled as well and he slowly felt more confident. He closed his eyes again and played the harp very slowly, so that it seemed like it would go on for an eternity. Corey closed his eyes and his head swayed slowly from side to side, like he was in a pleasant kind of trance. After several moments, Nick stopped playing and waited for Corey to return from the trance he was in. The troodon looked at Nick.

"That was wonderful, Nick. You play so beautifully." He complimented.

"Why thank you, Corey." Nick said, blushing again. "Would you like to hear me play some other instruments?"

"I would love to!" The troodon eagerly replied.

So the two spent a while listening to Nick playing. The longer he played in front of Corey, the more comfortable he felt doing so. He played the guitar, the flute, and a few others he hadn't played in a while, but the sounds he made still sounded really good. Nick looked at Corey, his eyes closed and his head swaying slowly from side to side, lost in Nick's music. The male sanajeh smiled and imagined him and Corey dating. Of how he would play music for Corey and it would just take him away, to a place where there were no worries of any kind, where everything was right with the world. And it definitely felt so as Nick looked all around his home. His eye then rested upon the clock on his dresser, and he was shocked when he saw the time. It was ten-thirty. Nick immediately stopped playing, set down the instrument he had been holding, and looked at Corey.

"Corey, Corey! It's ten-thirty! The game you're supposed to referee is going to start in thirty minutes!"

"What?" Corey jumped up really quick. "Oh geez, I can't be late! We gotta get to the station pronto!"

The two moved as fast as they could until they reached the train station and waited for the next train to arrive. Both of them anxiously watched the station clock as the seconds ticked away. It was now down to fifteen minutes to the game and just as panic was filling their chests, the train arrived and Corey ran over to it.

"Mr. Conductor, I need you to get me back to the dome ball field, I can't be late for the game!"

"Don't worry, Corey. We'll have you back there in no time." Mr. Conductor said reassuringly.

"Sorry, Corey. I didn't mean for this to happen." Nick said rubbing the back of his head.

Corey stepped onto the train and closed the door before looking at Nick. "It's okay, we just lost track of time for a bit, that's all. I'll see you later, Nick! And thanks for your music!"

"You're welcome and thank you!" Nick called as the train pulled away from the station, and took Corey away to the game.

A feeling of slight emptiness filled Nick's heart as he was there alone on the station platform, already missing Corey's company a lot. But at least today went better than last time, and Nick would see Corey again real soon. A smile forming on his face again, Nick turned and slithered off home, where he would rest before going to tell Alana about his day.


	5. A Night at Corey's

**Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic**

Chapter 5- A Night at Corey's

Nick went to a dome ball game a few weeks later, but he paid more attention to Corey refereeing the game than the actual game itself. He watched Corey stand on one side of the field while he blew his whistle from time to time, gave out points for whoever scored, and announced the score to the audience. As he watched him, Nick realized that Corey's refereeing skills were similar to how he lived his life; being fair and treating everyone equally.

In the past few weeks that Nick had been hanging out with Corey, he learned that while Patrick and Pamela Pachycephalosaurus were real close friends of his and he liked them a lot, he never favored them over any other team. If they scored or won, he would announce it. If an opposing team scored or won, he would announce that other team as the victors. And Patrick and Pamela accepted this. They knew that that was how Corey rolled and they liked him for it. The game ended with the opposing pachycephalosaurus team winning against the stygimoloch team. Nick slithered down the steps and made his way over to Corey.

"Excellent refereeing out there." Nick complimented.

"Thanks." Corey said. All the other creatures were slowly leaving the stands and heading off in different directions. Corey watched them leave and then he looked down at Nick and said, "Say would you like me to show you something? Actually, it's a place that I like to go to chill whenever I have any time to kill. So what do you say?"

"Sounds fine," Then Nick looked a little concerned. "As long as we aren't there too long. The night train isn't running tonight and I need to catch a ride home before sunset, before the last ride of the day leaves."

"Don't worry it's three o'clock, you have plenty of time. You'll be back at the station before then." Nick looked up at his troodon companion and decided that he would trust him. He nodded and Corey told the sanajeh to follow him. Nick followed the troodon off of the field and through some bushes onto a bare dirt path. They walked on it for several minutes before Corey pushed aside some branches of a bush. "Behold!" He cried.

Nick's eyes widened when he saw a huge, tall tree standing in the middle of the clearing surrounded by other trees and bushes. Light was shining into the clearing and made it look bright. The tree sat on a little hill and the tree had plenty of shade under it. The two friends came over to it and Nick rubbed the tip of his tail over the bark. "Corey, this is incredible."

The troodon smiled as he lay down on his back, put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes, and started beating his right foot up and down in the air. "Yeah, I know. It's so peaceful and quiet here, which makes it a great place to relax after a long day of work, or in my case, a long day of work and play." He chuckled to himself.

Nick coiled himself up in the shade along with Corey and rested his head on his side. He closed his eyes and after a little bit sighed. "This is great, thanks for showing me this place."

"Don't mention it." Corey replied before he began humming a tune to himself. He did so for a little bit and then he stopped just to enjoy the quiet atmosphere. Nick then yawned.

"You know, I feel up for a nap. Could you be sure to wake me up in an hour or two?"

"Sure thing, you can count on me. I'm just gonna lie here and enjoy this peaceful and beautiful afternoon."

"Thanks, Corey. You're a pal."

Nick closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. But unfortunately for the both of them, Corey felt so relaxed that he ended up falling asleep too.

* * *

Nick suddenly found himself onstage, holding a drumstick in his tail, playing before a large audience in what looked like an indoor amphitheater. Nick was playing the drums and feeling like he was having a good time. When he finished playing, the audience cheered. And loudest of them all and standing in the front row was none other than Corey. Nick smiled. It meant so much to him that he was there, enjoying his music. The troodon was cheering his name over and over again, but when his mouth opened to cheer the sanajeh for the twelfth time, only the sound of a loud whistle came out of his mouth. It seemed odd and Nick couldn't place what the sound was. But upon hearing it some more, he realized that it was a train whistle, the Dinosaur Train whistle.

Nick instantly woke up and raised his head up. He saw a sleeping Corey with his hands on top of his stomach and looked ahead to see that the sun was beginning to set. His eyes widened. "The last train, I'm going to miss the last train of the day!"

"W-What?" Corey woke up and shot up too. He looked over at Nick. "Oh no, I fell asleep too!"

"I gotta get over to the station before it's too late!" Nick quickly slithered off and he could hear Corey running fast behind him. Although sanajeh could move pretty fast, Nick wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it on time. Within a couple minutes he saw the station up ahead while his heart was pounding like mad. The train was there, it hadn't left yet. Just as hope was starting to well up in him, Nick heard the conductor cry "All aboard!" Mr. Conductor closed the door behind him and the train started to move away.

"Nooo!" Nick cried as he made it onto the platform, but just as he had the train was already moving fast down the line. Corey arrived on the platform too.

"No, no, no!" Nick yelled.

"Come back, please stop and come back!" Corey cried waving his arms and jumping up and down.

But nobody on board saw or heard them, and the train didn't stop. All Nick and Corey could do was watch as it disappeared into the distance.

"That…was the last train for the day. I'm stuck here until it comes back in the morning." Nick despaired. He curled up and rested his head down glumly. So far from his home and his family. What was he going to do? Where was he going to stay for the night?

Corey looked down at the depressed snake and a look of guilt appeared on his face. He slowly reached out his right hand towards him. "Nick, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have suggested…if only I hadn't fallen asleep then…" his voice trailed off.

Nick sighed and lifted up his head to look at the troodon. "No, it's not your fault. This was just…one of those things that happen…beyond our control." He said so that his friend wouldn't feel so bad. Then Nick closed his eyes and sighed again. "Where am I going to stay until the train arrives tomorrow?"

Corey looked a little upset and after half a minute of thinking, he spoke up while smiling a little. "You know, since it's my fault you're stuck here, how about you spend the night with me at my place?"

Nick's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Spend a night with Corey, the creature he's been crushing on for weeks? The mere suggestion made Nick feel so strange. Sharing the same space, eating with him at his home, it made Nick feel a little dizzy. He shook his head to regain himself and looked at Corey. "You sure?"

"Yeah, it's the least I could do for you. Besides, I've been to your place but you haven't been to mine yet, you could see it for the first time. What do you say?"

Nick rubbed his chin while he thought. "Alright." He said, only because he didn't wanted Corey to feel bad anymore.

"Excellent, follow me to my pad!" And with that, Corey spun around and Nick followed after him.

* * *

Corey's place was just up ahead, the troodon said after a few minutes of walking, which involved going across the Domeball field, past some bushes, and onto another dirt path leading away from the field. Nick wondered how many paths there were in Pachycephalosaurus Plateau. Eventually Nick could see a clearing up ahead and when they stopped before it, Nick knew where they were as Corey grinned down at him. "Welcome to my home, Nick."

Corey walked into the clearing, turned around, and held his arms out at his sides while still grinning at the sanajeh. "Feel free to sit or lie anywhere. Mi casa es su casa."

"Huh?" Nick raised one of his scaly brows.

"Oh, it's Spanish for my home is your home. It means make yourself at home." Corey turned and walked toward a wooden dresser. As he was opening a drawer and putting his precious whistle away, Nick wondered if Corey spoke Spanish and if he really liked creatures who spoke the language. Corey shut the drawer and turned to look at his guest for the night. "So, what do you think of my place?"

Nick looked around. The wooden dresser had four rows of drawers for storing Corey's personal possessions and a mirror attached to the top of it with what looked like a few photos attached to the sides of the mirror. He saw the nest where Corey obviously slept in, a rug on a spot on the ground, and a small wooden shed. "It looks nice, very nice. Say, what's the shed for? Storing more sports equipment?"

Corey chuckled. "Thanks, and that shed is not for storing anything, it's my bathhouse. Wanna see?" The troodon walked over to the shed and opened it. Nick slithered over and peered inside. It was indeed a bathhouse like Corey said. On the wall hung a few loofah sticks, loofahs, and a couple bars of soap, one on each of the two shelves. A showerhead was positioned down over the bathing area, which was a rectangular area for Corey to stand in while he was showering or lie in while he was taking a bath. Attached to the door on the inside was a rack with a couple towels hanging on it.

"Oh, nice." Nick said before Corey closed the door. "Anything else you got here?"

"Oh yeah, as a matter of fact." Corey said holding up his index finger. He walked over to the rug and moved it aside, revealing a wooden trapdoor with an iron ring handle. He pulled on the handle and opened the door to reveal a flight of stone steps leading down. "This is my shelter; I use it whenever bad storms happen. C'mon, let's take a look." Corey walked down the stone steps while Nick slithered down after him. The steps were carved into the side of the underground wall and as they went down the space on their right began to widen. Soon they arrived down in a large, circular room filled with things for storm emergencies, and Corey explained what everything in the room was. On the wall were several shelves filled with food to last a long time and medical supplies. On another side were low shelf boxes filled with books and a few battery-powered lamps for reading. In the wall opposite the supplies shelves was a hole and Corey said that was where the bathroom was. And in the center of the room was a giant electric cable spool used as a table and on top of it was a deck of cards.

"It's a great place to wait out a bad storm, it's got everything." Nick said looking around.

"Thanks pal." Corey said. They walked back up and Corey bent down to shut the door and covered it with the rug again. He straightened up and looked at his snake guest. "So, where would you like to sleep? You wanna sleep in my nest?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to deprive you of your one place to sleep." Nick was also hoping that Corey wouldn't suggest that they'd both sleep in the same nest, spending the night at his place was a lot to take in already.

"Okay, I'll just build you a nest to sleep in for the night." Corey said.

"I'll help." Nick said, not wanting Corey to do all the work for him. So the two friends got right to work finding some sticks and leaves and in no time had built a nice nest for Nick. Corey looked up and saw that the sun was slowly setting and Nick's stomach rumbled loudly. Corey looked at him.

"Hungry?" Nick nodded. "Okay, you feel like going on a hunt? I feel like I'm in the mood to go hunting."

"Oh, sure." Nick said. Then the two walked off and made their way into a tall grassy field; the grass was of the color tan. Suddenly, Corey held out his hand towards Nick. "Nick, don't move." Nick did as he was told and froze. Corey bent his legs forward and used his hands to push the tall grass aside. "Look over there." He said.

Nick looked where Corey was looking as they were both hiding behind the tall grass. On two rocks both a few feet apart, were two lizards sunbathing, one on each rock. "Whadda you say Nick, you in the mood for lizard?"

"Uh, sure." Nick said, in the mood for anything that was meat.

"Okay." Corey nodded. Then he got down low and leaned his body forward. He was on his hands and feet, and then he placed his right foot back a bit from his other foot. He focused his sight on one of the lizards and starting moving his shoulders up and down, raising one up and the other one down and vice versa. And just by looking at Corey's eyes, Nick could tell that Corey was in full predator mode. It looked so natural and beautiful.

"Which one you wanna take?" Corey asked, still looking ahead.

"What?" Nick was confused.

"I meant the lizards, which one you wanna take?"

"Oh, uh, the one on the right." Nick said.

"Okay, I'll take the one on left."

The two kept their eyes on the lizards, who were unaware that they were being stalked. "We'll pounce on the count of three, okay?" Corey whispered and his eyes narrowed.

"Right." Nick said, looking at his lizard and readying himself.

"One…two…THREE!" Corey lunged out of the grass with great speed towards the lizard on the left rock. Nick watched with amazement at how fast Corey moved, his heart beating with excitement. Then he lunged forward too towards the other lizard. They fell by the rocks and caught both lizards; Corey caught his using both his hands while Nick grabbed the other using his mouth. Then they both straightened up and ate the lizards, and then they smacked their lips in satisfaction. Corey closed his eyes and rubbed his stomach. "Boy that was delicious. Wanna go see if there are any more lizards?"

"Sure." Nick felt up for more.

"Let's go then." The two spent the next half hour hunting for lizards and by the time they had eaten four more, they were feeling full. When they looked up to see how dark it was starting to get, they decided to go back to Corey's. There they drank some water that Corey stored and sat in their nests, Corey in his and Nick in the newly made one he and Corey did. The darkness had settled in all around and the seconds tickled by. It was surprisingly quiet tonight. Nick wished that he had thought to have brought one of his instruments, and then he and Corey would have had something to do until it was time to go to bed. Nick imagined himself playing his flute while Corey listened to the sweet music. He imagined the troodon's eyes getting heavy with sleep, how cute it would've looked, and smiled at the thought. Then he was snapped out of his thoughts when Corey yawned and stretched his arms out at his sides.

"Boy am I tired. I think I'm gonna hit the hay."

"Yeah, me too." Nick said, only to add something to their short conversation.

"How's your bed, is it comfy enough?" Corey asked.

"Yeah, it's fine." Nick answered.

"You sure? Cause if it's not comfortable enough, I can…"

"Corey," Nick found himself chuckling. "It's fine, the nest you helped make, it's fine. I'm feeling very comfortable in it. But thanks for offering; you've been a great and gracious host."

"Oh you're welcome, least I could do."

Silence existed for only a few seconds before Corey spoke up again. "Well, goodnight. Don't let the bedbugs bite." He chuckled. "Just joking, Nick."

"Okay, goodnight to you too, Corey. Don't let the bedbugs bite either." The two laid themselves down in their nests. Nick coiled himself up and rested his head on part of his coiled body. He closed his eyes and waited a bit to fall asleep.

Sometime later, Nick woke up and left his nest to go to the bathroom. When he returned to the clearing, he could hear the sounds of Corey snoring. He slithered over to the troodon's nest and smiled. Corey was lying on his stomach with his chin resting on his hands, a smile on his face. He watched the troodon snore with his mouth closed and the air being inhaled through his nostrils and his sides moving up and down with each breath being took. Nick thought that Corey looked very beautiful while he slept. He wondered what it would be like if they were together and sleeping in the same nest. He imagined him and Corey sleeping together, the troodon's arms wrapped comfortably around him.

Then Nick looked at Corey's dresser and at the pictures on the mirror. Maybe Corey wouldn't mind if he took a look? Nick slithered over to the dresser and made himself straighten up tall to have a look. In the picture on the left of the mirror were two troodons, one was an adult while the other was a little kid. The grownup looked just like Corey, including Corey's friendly smile, except that he had wrinkles under his eyes while he was smiling with his mouth open and affectionately patting the head of the little troodon. Nick realized that this must be a picture of Corey with his grandfather when he was a kid and his grandfather was still alive. Nick smiled at the photo, which really showed how close of friends the two were.

"Nice picture, huh?" said a voice from behind the sanajeh. Nick jumped and turned around to see Corey smiling at him.

"It's just me." The troodon said chuckling.

"Oh, sorry. I had to go and just got back to the clearing...And then I saw the photo on your dresser and I guess…I just wanted to have a look. Sorry."

"No harm done. I was just waking up and I saw you in front of my dresser looking at the photo. Looks nice, doesn't it?"

"It does." Nick said.

"Say, since you like looking at photos and we're both up now, how about we take a look at some more? Would you like to?"

"Really?"

Corey nodded. "Of course." He walked over to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer to pull out a binder, closed the drawer and sat down at the foot of the dresser. Corey looked back at Nick, smiled, and gestured for him to sit next to him. Nick accepted the gesture and sat beside him. Corey opened the binder and Nick realized that it was a photo album. There were photos of Corey and his family when he was younger and growing up.

"This is one is of us at our annual family picnic." Corey said pointing at a photo of his kid self with his parents and grandparents all sitting and eating on a tablecloth on the ground and smiling; all of them clearly having a good time. "This one was taken the day my grandfather gave me the whistle I have now." He pointed at a picture of himself as a kid holding the whistle while he had an open-mouthed smile on his face. "And this is one is one of my grandfather's birthdays." In the photo, Corey's grandfather had some cake on his head while he was laughing along with his family. They all had cake on their heads.

"How'd some of the cake end up on top of his head and everyone else too?" Nick asked.

Corey rubbed the back of his neck while looking to the side. "Well, I put on it on his head as a joke and he did so to me and everyone did it to each other just so they wouldn't feel left out. Then we all laughed, we all had a good laugh that day." They looked through more photos for a little while before Nick began to yawn. Corey looked at him and then at the album. "Maybe we'll look at the rest tomorrow or another time, how about we head off to bed now?" Nick saw no objection to this and agreed. Corey returned the album to its proper place and the two got back into their nests and lay down.

"Corey?"

"Yeah, Nick."

Pause.

"Thanks for showing those pictures; it was very nice of you to. You've got some nice memories."

"You're welcome, Nick. Goodnight." Corey said yawning.

"Goodnight." Nick coiled himself up once more and closed his eyes. Soon the two of them were off in dreamland again.


	6. Poping the Question

**Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic**

Chapter 6-Poping the Question

It was bright and sunny the next morning in Pachycephalosaurus Plateau. Nick and Corey woke up and greeted each other good morning before starting the day. After having breakfast, the two walked off to the train station to wait for the train. It arrived and when Mr. Conductor had heard what happened yesterday, he felt bad for not hearing their cries for the train to stop.

"I'm so sorry; I should've had the train wait at least another minute."

"It's okay, you didn't know." Nick said.

"Well, please come aboard Nick, and we'll be sure to get you home this time. ALL ABOARDDDD!" Mr. Conductor cried.

Nick slithered on board and found a seat. Corey came up to his window and smiled. "Well, I guess I'll see you around. And again, sorry for what happened yesterday."

"Don't sweat it." Nick said smiling as he gripped Corey's hand through the window in farewell with the tip of his tail. "I had a blast staying with you last night, you were a great host. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Hey, maybe we'll have another little sleepover real soon, what do you say?" Corey said with a smile on his face.

Nick chuckled. "Sounds great, goodbye Corey."

"Goodbye, Nick."

The train whistle blew and the two friends let go. Corey backed up away from the train before it started to leave the station. He waved goodbye at Nick while Nick waved goodbye back. The sanajeh watched the station and Corey disappear from sight.

* * *

Nick stared out of his window as the scenery passed by. He was thinking about him and Corey, and how close they had gotten over the past few weeks. In Nick's opinion, they appeared to have become friends, maybe even good friends.

And with the time they had spent getting to know each other; Nick wondered if the time had come to pop the question to Corey, the would-you-like-to-go-out-with-me-on-a-date? question. Nick was worried about asking that, mostly because of how Corey would react to it. Was he into males like Nick? If so, would he say yes? What if it turned out Corey already had a boyfriend or girlfriend and just wanted to be friends? Would Nick be able to handle that? The sanajeh closed his eyes and sighed. "How could such difficult feelings and thoughts arise out of that one moment where I laid eyes on that troodon?"

The train soon arrived at his home and as Nick arrived at the door he thanked Mr. Conductor and slithered off onto the platform. Then something came to him and he looked back at Mr. Conductor. "Mr. Conductor, you're in a relationship right, with someone called Erma Eoraptor?"

"Yes indeedy do I am, Nick." Mr. Conductor said smiling.

"Well, after meeting her you've developed strong feelings for her, how long after that did it take for you to confess them to her and then ask her out."

"Why you asking, you have a crush on someone too and you need some advice?" Mr. Conductor asked in a friendly manner. Nick could feel himself blush. He said yes, but about whom he felt strongly for he wouldn't say.

"Oh it's fine not to tell me, you don't have to. Well I asked Erma out the day I first met her, which was when some friends of mine went looking to see her, Mrs. Pteranodon and her kids Buddy and Tiny. They brought her back to the Dinosaur Train where she and I met and well…" Mr. Conductor smiled as he shyly rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess we were both very taken by each other. When I dropped her off home in the Triassic, that was when I asked her out and she said yes."

"So when you meet someone for the first time and you really like them…in a romantic way…or you just have strong feelings for them…you ask them out immediately?"

"It doesn't have to be that fast. Just wait until you find the right moment to bring it up; ask when you feel ready to follow through. You understand me?" Mr. Conductor asked and after a few seconds, Nick nodded and said that he did before thanking him for his advice. He and the conductor said goodbye and the train left.

Nick went to see Alana to let her know that he was home safe and sound. In case she had known that he was gone yesterday and was worrying all this time. But she hadn't known at all because she and Gordon were gone on a little hunting trip and just got back this morning. She said how sorry she was to hear what had happened, but said that she was glad that things worked out. And when Nick talked about what he was thinking on the train, Alana said, "Ask whenever you feel ready, Nick. And if Corey says no, then hopefully you'll still be friends. And don't feel too sad if he says no…" She smiled, closed her eyes, and leaned forward to rub her cheek lovingly against his. "There's always someone out there for you, you just have to keep looking until you find them." Nick nodded at her after her cheek broke away. Hopefully things would work one way or the other.

He spent the next few days at home relaxing, spending time with Alana and Gordon, and playing some of his instruments. He would lay there in his nest while he played his heart out. He would play his feelings on the flute for a bit before setting it down and just staring up at the sky. He thought about Corey, when he first saw him, when he first met him, and the all times they spent getting to know each other. Nick closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled calmly, and when he opened his eyes there was a look of determination on his face. He was going to do it, he was going to ask the troodon out on a date.

* * *

Nick thought up another plan, this one for how to come about asking Corey out. For a whole day he thought of what things to say to lead up to the moment when he would pop the question and how to do it all. Some things he thought would do nicely, others he thought didn't seem good enough, and the rest would make him beat the top of his head lightly and say, "No, no, that's not good enough." In the end, he decided on a plan and all to do now was to execute it.

* * *

Nick arrived on the Dinosaur Train at Pachycephalosaurus Plateau the very next day. Steam issued out of the smokestack as the train stopped and the doors opened to let passengers off. Nick slithered off the train and towards the Domeball field where he knew Corey would be. And when he arrived, he saw him there even though there wasn't going to be a game today (Nick knew of Corey's refereeing schedule, the troodon often filled the sanajeh in so he would know when to come see him). Corey was just hanging out and chilling there before he would leave for another game he had to referee somewhere else. Nick had enough time, more than enough time to do what he wanted before Corey had to leave. Taking a deep breath and summoning as much courage as he possibly could, Nick slithered past the bleachers, onto the field, and towards the troodon.

"Hi, Corey."

Corey turned around, saw Nick, and smiled warmly. "Hi, Nick."

"Pleasant day for a game, huh?"

Corey looked up at the clear blue sky and nodded. "Yeah it is, but there isn't going to be a game here today. I just thought I'd hang here until it's time to leave for Ankylosaurus Acres, I'm refereeing a game there with another troodon referee. Game's sure to attract a huge crowd as always. Hey, you wanna come and watch? It should be fun!"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not feeling interested in seeing a Dinoball game today. Thanks for the offer though."

"No problem. Wanna hang out for a bit before I head off? Game doesn't start for an hour and a half."

"Sure." Nick replied. The two of them went over to a bench and both sat down on it. Nick looked at Corey, who was sitting on his right, and felt a bit nervous. What would Corey say if he told him his feelings for him? Would he want to go out with him? Was Corey into males? Females? Both? Nick shook the thoughts out of his head in attempt to not worry himself too much. Then he took a deep breath and then spoke up.

"Corey, there's something I want to tell you."

"Yeah, what is it?" Corey turned his head to look at Nick and he saw the troodon's beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

After thinking about it a lot yesterday, Nick decided to just be direct about what he wanted to say. "I don't want you to feel weirded out or anything when I tell you this and to hear me out when I say… when I say that…I…I have a crush on you, Corey."

Corey didn't say anything, which Nick guessed was a sign to continue. "I've had a huge crush on you ever since I first saw you at that Domeball game with my sister weeks ago. You…" Nick looked Corey in the face "You are the most beautiful and charming creature I have ever laid eyes upon in my life. And you're the nicest guy I've met. I admire your kindness and passion for sports. I'm not as into them as you are, but I still admire that you care greatly about them. And you're always trying to be fair and help others as much as possible. The world is very fortunate to have someone like you in it. And I feel fortunate to know you and having you as a part of my life as my friend." Nick took another deep breath before continuing. "And I was wondering, if you want to, would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Corey still said nothing. Perhaps he was still stunned by what Nick had just said. "I'm sorry. I know it must seem and feel weird, what I said, I…" Nick's voice trailed off and after a few seconds Corey spoke up.

"No, it's not. It's not weird, and I'm not weirded out by what you said." Corey paused. "I'm gay too."

"Really?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I have been for years, known since I was a teenager. And thanks for that stuff about me being fair and charming and beautiful, that's all very flattering of you to say." Corey smiled. "And Nick,"

"Yeah?"

Corey grinned at him. "My answer is yes, I would love to go out with you."

"You do?" Nick could feel himself smiling on the inside. In fact, he was also smiling on the outside.

"Yeah, I…I've been crushing on you for weeks too." The troodon said while rubbing the back of his neck, still smiling at Nick. "Since the first time I met you, but I've been a bit nervous about telling you. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or for you not to be my friend. I came to like you a great deal after we first met. And might I add that you're a very gorgeous snake and a wonderful player." Nick blushed. So for very nearly as long as he'd been crushing on Corey, Corey had been crushing on him too.

"Well, I'm not uncomfortable by that, and thanks for saying that flattering stuff too." Nick smiled at him. "You know just what to say to easily charm me."

Corey chuckled and the two stared at each other for a bit. "So, how should we go about this date? Dinner?" The troodon asked.

"It doesn't have to be that, we could just meet at a café and have coffee and some pastries, then go for a walk around Pachycephalosaurus Plateau. Does that sound nice to you?" Nick asked.

"Of course, I know of a nice café here, and I could show you around here and the places you haven't been yet. How does that sound?"

"Wonderful, it all sounds wonderful. This Saturday?"

"You bet."

"Then it's a date." It had gone just as smooth as Nick hoped. The two of them confirmed their date plans, discussed what they were going to do, and after all that was done they started chatting about sports and music for a while. Then it came time for Corey to say goodbye and leave. As he stood up and started walking away, a thought occurred to Nick and the sanajeh called after him.

"Corey, wait!"

"Yeah?" The troodon turned back to look at him.

Nick smiled at him. "I changed my mind, I would love to go to that Dinoball game with you. I could watch you referee. You do it very well."

Corey chuckled. "I'm glad you changed your mind. It'd be great to have you there with me"

So they both left for Ankylosaurus Acres and arrived in no time. Nick sat in the first row of the bleachers and watched the game as it was played out. He also watched Corey refereeing the game with the other troodon referee. He loved watching the game, and Corey's excellent refereeing skills. When it came time for half-time and a local music band started playing, Corey found Nick and sat down beside him. The two watched the band play Dinosaurs A to Z. Nick looked down at his left and saw Corey's hand lying on the wooden seat beside him. Nick slowly raised up his tail and held it over the hand.

"Corey?"

"Yeah, Nick."

Nick's eye darted from the troodon to his hand and back at him. "Would it be alright?"

Corey saw what he meant, smiled, and nodded. Nick smiled and placed the end of his tail on top of Corey's hand. He looked up at Corey's face and they both smiled a little. Then they resumed watching the band while holding hands. Though it was a few days away from their date, Nick could already feel the romance between them starting to blossum.


	7. Playing with the Pachycelosaurus'

**Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic**

Chapter 7-Playing with the Pachycelosaurus Siblings

Corey was all by himself as he stood on the Domeball field, setting up the game net and humming merrily to himself. Today Patrick and Pamela Pachycephalosaurus would be playing against Pete and Patty Pachycephalosaurus in a game of Domeball. The match was sure to be an electrifying one and there was no doubt that lots of creatures would be in attendance for it. As Corey was finishing up with the net, he heard a whistle and someone calling out his name. '"Hey, Corey!" The troodon turned around and smiled when he saw Nick slithering onto the field toward him. "Hey, Nick."

The two males walked up to and greeted each other by Corey gripping the end of Nick's tail and them shaking hands, or in Nick's case, shaking hands and tails. "What are you doing here? Our date isn't until tomorrow."

"Well, I came because I wanted to see you of course." Nick said with a smile. "Can't I come see you?" Corey chuckled. "Of course, we could hang until it's time for today's game to start. Won't be happening for an hour and a half, so we could squeeze in a quick game. Wanna play a game of Dinoball? We don't even have to keep score; we could just play for fun and to kill time?"

Images of the last game he played with Corey flashed through Nick's mind and he sighed. "Corey, now that you know my feelings for you and now that we're dating, there's something that I feel I should tell you." He told his troodon friend of how distracted he'd been by Corey playing, saying that he moved so beautifully while playing, that it made Nick easily infatuated and distracted by him. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, I was…shy about telling you that." Nick paused, unable to think of what else to say.

"It's okay, thanks for telling me." Corey said. "But do you think you can try playing with me again? Maybe you can block that feelings juts a bit and focus. Because I think it would be great to play with you."

"Well, I guess I could try."

"Excellent, let's get started." Corey turned to head over to the other side of the playing field, but then stopped to look back at Nick while keeping his head facing forward. "Oh, and Nick…?"

"Yeah?" The sanajeh asked.

"Try not to get too distracted by how beautifully I move, okay?" Corey said showcasing a sly side grin at him. Nick found himself chuckling. "I should never have told you that, Corey. You are such a tease."

"True about me being a tease, but I'm awfully glad you told me. I never knew that the way I moved was fascinating, thank you." He now seemed to be smiling seductively, which looked very cute to Nick. "You're very welcome." Nick laughed before he took the other side of the field.

Corey blew his whistle and cried, '"Let the game commence!" He threw the gourd up into the air and hit it over the net with his tail. Nick kept his eyes on it and was determined to do better than in his last game with the troodon. He saw it falling and smacked it over the net with his tail. It landed on the ground before Corey could stop it. He looked up at Nick and smiled. "Excellent play, Nick. You're really getting the hang of it."

Nick could feel himself smile. It meant a lot hearing that from Corey. "Thanks." They continued playing for a while and beating the gourd back and forth. Nick improved throughout the game and rarely missed the gourd. After nearly an hour of play, the two decided to rest up a bit and took to drinking some water to rehydrate themselves. "Boy, nothing makes you as thirsty as a good game, right Nick?" Corey said after taking a swig of water. Water trailed from his mouth and down the side of his neck.

"You said it, Corey." The two of them sat down on a bench to rest and look out over the field. A bird flew overhead and called out to other birds. "Beautiful day for a game, huh Nick?"

"Definitely." The sanajeh agreed. Then he spoke. "Speaking of today's game, you've known Patrick and Pamela Pachycephalosaurus for years, right?"

"Yup, all three of us grew up here and were friends since we were little kids." Corey chuckled. "When I first realized that I was gay, I kinda had a temporary crush on Patrick."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I mean, he's incredibly handsome in my opinion. But it soon faded away."

"How come?"

"Well, after time, I realized that Patrick and I were meant to be just friends. And besides, now he's seeing another creature, a female pachycephalosaurus."

"Well that's nice, my sister once said that there's always someone for you."

"And who knows? Maybe the crush I currently have on the creature next to me might lead somewhere, somewhere happy even." He said looking at Nick with affection. The sanajeh could feel himself smile and blush.

"Hey, Corey!" A young male's voice cried out. It sounded friendly and carefree. Corey looked in the direction the voice was coming from and chuckled. "Well speak of the devil." It was Patrick who cried out to him. He and his sister were heading towards the field and the two friends sitting on the bench. "Hey, Corey. How you been?" Patrick greeted.

"Good, you?" The troodon asked.

"Same." Corey stood up to fistbump and then hug the pachycephalosaur. After the two broke away, Corey introduced Nick.

"Any friend of Corey's is a friend of mine. Put it there, Nick." Patrick and Nick shook before Pamela did the same with the sanajeh. Nick turned to face Patrick again. "I don't know if you two remember, but I was there at one of your games a little while back. You both autographed a game gourd for my sister Alana."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. How'd her husband react when she brought it home?" Patrick asked.

Nick grinned at his new friend. "Oh, he was very surprised at first. Then he expressed how happy he was and thanked Alana for thinking of getting you and your sister's autographs. He told me to thank you two for it If I ever saw you guys again. The gourd's resting on top of their wardrobe at home."

"Nice, always happy to do it for our fans." Patrick said and then he looked at Corey. "You feel up for a quick game? I could use a good warmup."

Corey chuckled, and a look of determination appeared on his face. "You're on, Patrick Pachycephalosaurus!"

"But you were just resting." Nick said incredulously and in an amused manner.

"I've had plenty of rest. I rest often and have enough energy every day to ref games and play them if I want. C'mon Patrick, show me what you got!"

"You bet, Coremister!" The two took separate sides and Nick chuckled to himself. He had to admire Corey's ability to rest quickly and his eagerness to always play or referee sports games. The two players took to playing a game of Dinoball while Pamela sat next to Nick on the bench. They both watched Corey and Patrick play.

"You've known Corey how long?" Pamela asked. "Several weeks." Nick replied. "We've hung out at least a few times a week for the past several. We've become really close, I believe."

Pamela smiled at him. "Good, Corey's a great creature to know, right?"

"Oh definitely." Nick said smiling at the troodon. Now that he wasn't playing with him, Nick could sit there and be mesmerized by the way Corey moved on the field. It was a wonderful sight.

"Hey Patrick, guess what?" Corey smacked the gourd up over the net with both hands.

"I don't know Corey, what?" Patrick asked before smacking the gourd back over the net. Nick chuckled and was amused that they were able to have a normal conversation while still being able to focus on their game.

"I have a hot date tomorrow." The gourd flew to Patrick's side.

"Ohh, a hot date you say? Who's the lucky guy, Corey?" The gourd flew back to Corey's side. _So Patrick and his sister know that Corey's gay too._ Nick thought.

"I'll give you a hint." Corey threw the gourd back up using the top of his head. He didn't seem to be fazed by hitting the gourd with his head, not even the least bit hurt. "His name rhymes with Sick Nanajeh."

Patrick froze and he let the gourd hit his side of the field. "Wait, you mean…" Patrick looked over at Nick and the sanajeh could feel his face going red. "Nick Sanajeh is your date?"

"Up, that gorgeous snake over there summoned up the courage to ask me out just a few days ago, and I happily said yes."

"Well, congrats to both of you." Patrick said smiling at both of them. "Hey, Nick. You better show our friend Corey a good time, or we won't be friends anymore." Patrick joked.

"Oh, don't put any pressure on him." Corey chuckled. "Besides, he'll show me a wonderful time, I just know it." They all laughed and Patrick and Corey resumed their game for a bit. While they were playing, Nick thought about tomorrow. He had to admit to himself that he was a bit nervous, but he was also excited. He couldn't wait for tomorrow to come and was determined to show Corey a good time. The sanajeh felt positive that he was going to sweep the troodon off of his feet. He could imagine himself literally doing just that and softly chuckled to himself at the thought.

After some more time passed, Nick and Pamela joined in on the game too and they all played with each other (Nick and Corey against the two siblings). Then when it came very close to game time, Pete and Patty Pachycephalosaurus showed up as well as lots of other creatures, who came to watch the game. Nick sat in the front row of the bleachers as the teams took their sides. He watched Corey blow his whistle and the game began. Then it struck him. He remembered the game where he first saw Corey, which took place before he met and got to know the troodon, and now this was the one that predated their date. Nick smiled and marveled at the thought.

The game was a good one, tough and dramatic. No one was sure who would win. But in the end, it was Patrick and Pamela who were the victors.

* * *

Nick walked Corey home after the game and having some dinner together. The sun was starting to set. They stopped before the clearing where Corey's home was and the troodon turned to his snake companion and smiled. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow for our date then, huh?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Nick said, a part of him still finding it hard to believe that this was actually happening, that Corey said yes. It seemed like he was going to be crushing on him forever. But Nick was really looking forward to their date, he hoped to show Corey a good time. He wrapped the end of his tail around both Corey's wrists in a loving hold and told this to the troodon. Corey laughed.

"Relax, I'm sure you'll do fine. I have no high expectations for you." He said that so Nick would feel better.

"Oh, thanks." Nick paused. "Corey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot." Corey said.

"Would it be alright…if…I…I…kissed you on the cheek goodbye?" He waited for Corey's response, which came in the form of a smile and a verbal response. "Yes, you may, I don't mind at all."

Nick made himself stand up taller until he was eye level with his friend. He looked him face to face before leaning forward and planting his lips on the troodon's cheek. His skin felt soft and smooth; very pleasant to the touch. Nick broke away slowly and stared at his eyes. "Goodbye, Corey."

Corey smiled and then he did something unexpectedly. He leaned forward and kissed Nick on the cheek as well. His lips pressed softly against his cheek and when they broke away, Nick could hear the lips make a light smacking sound. "Goodbye, Nick." And with that, Nick let go of Corey's hands and watched the troodon turn and head home. He stared in bewilderment at first, but after turning around and slithering away toward the train station, he smiled. He stopped and placed the end of his tail against his cheek; his smile getting bigger. Then he started moving towards the station. His date with Corey couldn't come sooner.

 **I think the story's soon coming to its end, it should be finished in the next chapter or the chapter after that. Thanks for reading it so far and let me know what you think.**


	8. The Dating Game

**Well here it is, the last chapter of Game Plan. Sorry it took so long to do, I had lost interest for a while and didn't get it back until quite recently. But now the story's done and I can move on, I just can't believe that it took me over a year to do this one. Enjoy.**

 **~DinosaurTrainFan**

 **P.S. I think you can expect more stories of Nick and Corey in the future.**

* * *

 **Game Plan-A Dinosaur Train Fanfic**

Chapter 8-The Dating Game

The day of the date had arrived. Corey Troodon stood before his dresser and looked himself in the mirror. He wanted to make himself look perfect for his date with Nick. He took out a special comb from one of his drawers and used it to comb the feathers atop his troodon head. When he was done he set the comb down and smiled at himself in the mirror. He looked ready.

Corey then saw the photo of him with his grandfather when he was a kid. He placed his hand on it and memories started flooding through his mind. He remembered the memories he had of the last years he spent with his grandfather. He flashed back to when he was fifteen and his grandfather was lying ill in bed. Things were looking grim for him and it didn't seem likely that he was going to make it. Feeling that time was precious, Corey decided to tell his grandfather that he was gay. And it didn't bother him at all, he said that he still loved Corey and thought of him as his best friend. "Thanks for the all pleasant memories, Corey. And don't feel too sad. I've had a great life and soon, I'll be reunited with your wonderful grandmother. I've missed her so much."

His grandfather then placed his hand on the side of Corey's face and smiled. "May you find someone who you'll love and care about for the rest of your life, and may that someone feel the same way about you. Goodbye, Corey."

Corey sniffled. "Goodbye, Grandpa."

And then his grandfather closed his eyes, and with a smile on his face, passed away. It broke Corey's heart, but in time he grieved and moved on from the pain. A bit of it was still there, but he thought that it was necessary; he never wanted to forget his grandfather.

He touched the photo with his right hand and drew his index finger in a circle over it. "Well Grandpa, I think I've finally found that special someone, and he's my newest best friend. He's very nice, maybe we'll even hit it off well, on the date I mean. Well, I'm heading off for my first date with Nick, wish me luck." Corey imagined his grandfather wishing him luck and turned to leave. Then he felt a breeze blowing against his shoulder. He turned back and looked at the photo. Then he smiled. "Thanks, Grandpa."

Then he left to go meet Nick.

* * *

Nick was waiting for Corey. He waited outside a café called Crossman Corners. It was early afternoon and the café wasn't too busy. It was a small one-story building made of stone with a flat stone on top as the roof and had a few windows on all sides with a front entrance leading into the building. There were several creatures sitting at tables inside the café and outside at the tables secluded inside a black iron fence that surrounded the front of the café. There was a counter inside where creatures bought food and drinks. The café's employees were mostly troodons, with an ornithomimmus as a waiter, Deinchochus as a busboy, and a pteranodon as the janitor. Nick looked from one pathway to the other, wondering if Corey would make it on time.

He had practiced what he would do with Alana, who was delighted to hear that he had a date with Corey. Alana showed him what and what not to do during the date and when they were finished practicing, Alana couldn't help but smile and say, "Little bro, I think you're ready for Corey." To which Nick said, "Thank you, sis." Then he kissed her on the cheek.

After waiting at the café for a few minutes, Nick finally saw his date coming into view and walking towards him with his usual troodon walk, which Nick found very fascinating. _Troodons move so beautifully the way they do._ Nick thought. Then he called out to him. "Hey, Corey!"

"Hey, Nick!" Corey cried out with his hand by his mouth. He walked until he stood right in front of the sanajeh. Nick looked up at him and smiled. "You arrived just in time."

"Of course, I always try my best to be punctual." He said holding up his hand and index finger as if pointing out a fact.

Nick eyed the top of the troodon's head. "You combed you feathers?"

"Yeah, you like?"

"I do. You look very handsome today." The sanajeh complimented.

Corey chuckled. "Thanks, so do you." He looked at the outside space enclosed by the fence. "So, shall we have a seat?"

"Of course." The two entered the enclosed space and Nick brought out a chair for Corey. It had a hole in the back for Corey to stick his tail through when he sat down.

The troodon chuckled again. "What a gentleman, thank you." Corey sat down and Nick pushed him closer to the table before seating himself. Then a female troodon whose feathers were in a dropping down hairstyle, much like that of Tricia Troodon the conductor of the solar train, and wearing a green apron, smiled at the two. "Hello, my name is Amy and welcome to Crossman Corners. What can I get you two gents?" She said greeting them warmly.

"I'll have some peach tea with a pastry." Corey pointed at the picture of the pastry he wanted on the menu.

"I'll have a blueberry muffin with some sparkling mineral water, please."

"Sure thing, be back in a few." Amy took their menus and walked away to attend to another customer real quick before taking the orders to the back.

Corey looked at Nick and rested his chin on his hands before grinning at him. "Nice place ain't it?"

"Yeah, and such friendly creatures who work here." Nick commented.

"I know, it's very nice and I love coming here. I often come here on my way to and back from the Domeball field whenever I get the munchies for some delicious goodies."

"So how was the walk here? You didn't have any trouble?"

"No trouble at all. I had a nice walk on the way here and enjoyed the scenery. I saw birds singing to each other in the trees. It all sounded so beautiful. Doesn't music help make the world feel so beautiful, or helps to bring its inner beauty out?"

"I agree with you, Corey." Nick lifted up the end of his tail onto the table and smiled at his date. "You know on an unrelated note, as a troodon you walk beautifully. That troodon walk is so charming, troodons are such a charming species."

Corey placed his hand against his chest in a charming gesture. "Why thank you, Nick. I agree that troodons are indeed charming. But do you know what species of creature is also charming?"

Nick thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know, what?"

"Sanajeh." Corey continued smiling at Nick.

"Sanajeh?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I find the way that a sanajeh can move and stretch its body to be very charming, and even sexy. I thought so after meeting you. You're very sexy and charming, in addition to being good looking."

Nick could feel himself blush, but he smiled and let himself blush. Corey already knew his feelings for him, and he wouldn't try to shy away from them anymore.

When they couldn't think of anything else to say, Corey looked away at a tree not too far away, admiring how tall it stood. Nick's chair felt a little wobbley on one side so he placed a small stack of napkins underneath one leg to balance it. After he was finished with his task, he looked down and saw Corey's feet. Then a thought came to him and the sanajeh smiled in a sneaky way. He lifted his head up but left his tail underneath the table. He pretended to look away and slowly slid the end of his tail across Corey's toes, while also being careful to avoid Corey's big toe claw. The troodon felt this and looked at Nick, who looked back at him while still smiling sneaky like. Corey smiled back and after Nick was done and set the end of his tail on the ground in front of Corey's feet, the troodon lifted up his right foot and gently rubbed the sole of it up and down the sanajeh's tail. Then Nick lifted up his tail and rubbed the sole of Corey's foot back. Their game of footsie continued for a few minutes before their waitress Amy returned with a crepe with peach tea and a blueberry muffin with sparkling mineral water. Their game stopped and they thanked Amy before she left.

The two dug in and sighed happily, the food and drink all tasted so good. The chatter of the other customers could be heard all around them. Creatures talked about the weather, how their lives were going, news, sports, music and many other stuff. Everything in the air felt nice too. Nick and Corey ate slowly so that they could talk. From Corey, Nick learned that his family knew that he was gay, but had come to accept it years ago. He also learned that Corey was an only childgrowing up, though once in a while he wished he had one or two brothers or sisters. "It would have been nice to have more creatures to play and hang out with, but I got through fine despite that."

They finished their pastries and drinks. "Say, Nick I know this nice little spot that no one else knows about, wanna go see it?"

"Sure." They paid for everything, thanked Amy and told her to thank the baker and others who provided drinks for them, and left. Nick slithered beside Corey as they walked. They arrived at two big white rocks with some vines between them, which parted like a curtain when Corey moved them aside and gestured for Nick to go in. "After you?" it was Nick's turn to chuckle and say, "What a gentleman you are, Corey Troodon."

Nick slithered in and Corey followed him, the vines falling back and covering their way in and also hiding them from the rest of the world. They walked down a curving path with trees where vines hung down on both sides. It felt like they were in a maze of some sort. But they eventually found themselves in a clearing where the top was covered in tree branches coming together so closely that only small rays of light could enter it. Grass covered the sides of the clearing while the middle was barren and had nothing but dirt.

"It's another quiet place where I like to come to chill. I've known about it ever since I was a young troodon teenager."

Nick thought it was great, so calm and relaxing. He wouldn't mind hanging out here with Corey sometimes. "Just how many oasis' do you know about, Corey?"

Corey just smiled slyly and tapped the side of his head with his index claw. "Many, troodons have big brains."

"Well we must go to them all some other times, on more dates." Nick looked around and that was when an idea came to him. He turned to Corey and smiled. "Do you dance, Corey?"

""Do I dance?"

"Yes." Nick said.

"Well, a little. I can, I just don't do it much."

"Well, would you like to dance here in this little piece of quiet paradise, with me?" Nick lowered one imaginary eyebrow while smiling seductively at the troodon. Corey stared at him for a moment before a slight embarrassed look appeared on his face.

"Promise you won't laugh if it's bad?"

"I promise, although I doubt you'll be bad. I bet you're really good on those feet of yours."

Corey chuckled and looked at his feet. He lifted one foot up and wiggled his toes. Then he looked up at Nick. "Alright Nick, I'll dance with you."

"Excellent." Nick and Corey came close together until they were standing in front of each other. Corey placed both hands on Nick's side and Nick lifted up the end of his tail and placed it around Corey's hips. His face reddened a little, but he was still smiling along with his troodon partner. Then they began to kind of waltz all over the clearing. It started slow at first, but it soon began to pick up speed.

"Corey, you really are a good dancer. You've got nice rhythm."

"Thanks, Nick."

And then Nick did something that Corey wasn't totally expecting. Keeping his tail around Corey's lower back, he dipped him backward. Corey was surprised, but then he laughed. "Wow Nick, you really know how to sweep a troodon off his feet."

Nick just smiled at him. He loved that troodon's laugh.

* * *

After they finished dancing and relaxing in the hidden clearing, the two left for a walk. Where they didn't know, but it was a nice day for a walk and they didn't care where they went. They looked at the trees that they passed and saw one or two interesting stones along the way. After twenty minutes or so, Nick and Corey saw the Dome ball field up ahead and walked up to it. The field was completely deserted as were the bleachers. No game would be taking place there for another couple of days.

"I just love this sport." Corey said placing his closed hands on his hips and smiling proudly at the field. "So exciting, so passionate. And the feeling of adrenaline while you're playing..." Corey took a deep breath and sighed happily before he looked at Nick. "Say, how about a game of Dome ball between us?"

Nick thought about it and smiled. "Sure, let's play some Dome ball!"

"Hand and tail style! First one to reach eleven points is the winner!" Corey took one side of the field while Nick took the other side. "Ready?" Corey asked.

Nick nodded and Corey blew his whistle before throwing up the gourd. It disappeared into the sun for a moment before coming back down. Nick squinted his eyes with a determined expression on his face, readied himself, and struck the gourd over the net. Corye threw himself to the ground but was unable to stop it from hitting the ground."

Corey looked at Nick and smiled. "Point to Nick Sanajeh!"

Then after the gourd was passed back and forth, it landed on Nick's side. "Point for Corey Troodon!" The game continued for a while, with nick and Corey passing the gourd over the net time and time again, each giving their best shot with hitting it out of their sides. After nick picked up the gourd and threw it to Corey, he spoke up. 'The score is tied ten to ten, whoever gets the next point will win the game. Will it be Nick, or Corey? Let's find out folks."

Nick rolled his eyes and chuckled. But then he tensed his body up. This was it, he was one point away from victory. He was going to give it his all and if he lost, at least he tried and had a good game with Corey.

Corey threw up the gourd and when it fell back to earth, he smacked it up into the air. Nick smacked it back. Their hearts were beating fast due to their movements and feelings of suspense. It seemed like either of them could win. Back and forth, back and forth the gourd went. In a way it felt like torture, but neither wanted to give the other an easy win. When the gourd was heading down towards Corey's side, he turned around and using his tail, smacked the gourd with all his might, causing it to fly up high into the air. Nick was frantically searching the sky for any sign of the gourd's descent, his heart thundering in his chest. And then he saw it. At first it looked like a little speck, but it got bigger and bigger as it fell. Feelings that he had no time to lose, he slithered forward as quickly as he could to the pot where it seemed that the gourd was going to land, threw his head up, and smacked it up into the air.

Corey shot forward. "I got it! I got it! I-" He fell to the ground on his front and the gourd landed on his side. "I…don't got it?"

Nick stood there in a daze, had what just happened actually just happen? Then a voice broke him out of his daze.

"He did it folks, he did it! Nick Sanajeh beat Corey Troodon in a spectacular game of hand and tail Dome ball! And the crowd goes wild! Ohhh! Ahhh!"

Nick smiled, laughed a little, and went towards Corey. The troodon hugged him. "Congrats, Nick!"

"Thanks, Core."

The two went over to a bench and had some water, even splashing a little on their faces to help cool off. "Man, what a game. You played very admirably, Nick…" Corey stared off into space, but then smiled at his companion. "You know what? I think you deserve a special reward for playing so well."

"Really, like what?" Nick asked.

Corey smiled at Nick while crossing his left leg over his right and leaning forward a little on his left hand. "How would you like to kiss me?"

Nick stared at him, had he heard the troodon correctly?

"Kiss you?"

"Yes, how would you like to kiss me?"

Nick paused. "On the cheek?"

Corey shook his head. "On the lips."

Nick paused again. "And you're sure you're okay with this?"

"I'm sure." Corey said nodding.

Nick thought about it. "Okay but before I do, you have to close your eyes."

"Done." Corey closed his eyes.

Nick stared at him. He was going to do it, he was going to kiss the troodon he felt such strong feelings for. His hearty was racing in his chest as he inched his face closer to Corey's. The troodon sat frozen in the position he was in, awaiting Nick's kiss. Nick took a deep breath and inched closer, his lips inches away from Corey's. he took another deep breath, closed his eyes, and placed his lips against Corey's. Both their eyes opened and they looked at each other. Their lips broke away for a moment, and then the two kissed each other again, and again, and again. Both of them clearly enjoying it. Corey placed both his hands on Nick's back and rubbed them up and down while Nick lifted up his tail. He held the bottom of Corey's lower jaw and stroked the back of his neck before sliding his tail down his back, where it remained rubbing up and down his back. Then Nick started kissing every inch of Corey's face and let the troodon do the same to him. Then he was necking Corey while he was being necked also. They got so caught up in their making out session that Corey toppled backwards off the bench and Nick fell on top of him. After checking that they were both okay, they continued making out for a few more minutes before stopping.

Corey smiled at the sanajeh. "That was the first makeout session I've ever had with someone else, and the best yet, thanks Nick."

"You're welcome, and thank you."

The two of them got back onto the bench and sat on it for a while before deciding to head off. 'I';ll take you home." Nick said to Corey.

And so they arrived at the path that lead to Corey's place. Corey gave nick both his hands and the sanajeh affectionately wrapped the end of his tail around them. "I had a wonderful time on our date, thanks Nick."

"You are very welcome, Corey."

"Maybe next time you can take me out to dinner." Corey said smirking at him.

"What's with you wanting to the 'girl' in this relationship?"

"Oh, would you like to the 'girl?'"

Both of them laughed. "Maybe we can take turns." Nick said.

They looked at each other.

"I love you, Corey."

"I love you too, Nicky."

Nick and Corey kissed and the sanajeh released Corey's hands from his grip.

"See you later, you handsome troodon."

"See you later too, you handsome sanajeh." Then Corey turned and nick watched him wlak away until he could no longer see him. Then he headed off for the station ride home.

He visited Alana briefly and told her how his date with Corey went, and she was glad to ehar that it went well.

"So is there going to be another date between you two?"

Nick laughed. "in the near future, maybe."

But later when he was lying in his nest looking up into the sky, he smiled at the idea and couldn't wait to spend another date with that wonderful troodon.

THE END


End file.
